Abstract

Besides COVID-19,[1] the replacement of fossil fuels by a clean and renewable energy source is one of the most urgent and challenging issues our society is facing today, which is why intense research has been devoted to this topic recently. Nature has been using sunlight as the primary energy input to oxidize water and generate carbohydrates (a solar fuel) for over a billion years. Inspired, but not constrained by nature, artificial systems[2] can be designed to capture light and oxidize water and reduce protons, CO2 or other compounds to generate useful chemical fuels and feedstocks. In this context, this contribution will describe the key role of molecular catalysts both in homogeneous phase an anchored on solid conductive or semiconductive supports, for the generation of solar fuels.[3]

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References:

[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963

[2] (a) Berardi, S.; Drouet, S.; Francàs, L.; Gimbert-Suriñach, C.; Guttentag, M.; Richmond, C.; Stoll, T.; Llobet, A. Chem. Soc. Rev., 2014, 43, 7501-7519. (b) Matheu, R.; Ertem, M. Z.; Gimbert-Suriñach, C; Sala, X.; Llobet, A. Chem. Rev. 2019, 119, 3453–3471. (c) Matheu, R.; Garrido Barros, P.; Gil Sepulcre, M.; Ertem, M. Z.; Sala, X; Gimbert-Suriñach, C; Llobet, A. Nat. Rev. Chem. 2019, 3, 331–341.

[3] (a) Creus, J.; Matheu, R.; Llobet, A. et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 15382-15386. (b) Gimbert-Suriñach, C.; Moonshiram, D.; Llobet, A. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 15291-15294. (c) Matheu, R.; Gray, H. B.; Brunschwig, B. S.; Llobet, A; Lewis, N. S. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 11345-11348. (d) Garrido-Barros, P.; Gimbert-Suriñach, C.; Llobet, A. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 12907–12910. (e) Vereshchuk, N.; Matheu, R.; Llobet, A. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 5068-5077. (f) Hoque, Md. A.; Gil-Sepulcre, M.; Llobet, A. et al. Nat. Chem. 2020, accepted.

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